Heavy monsoon rains kill six in UP, Punjab, Guj

Lucknow/Chandigarh, Aug 13 (UNI) As many as six people were killed in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat as heavy monsoon rains brought down the mercury in many states.

Two children were reported to have been buried alive in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, after a dilapidated wall collapsed due to heavy rainfall last night.

Three people, including a child, were reportedly killed, while three others injured in incidents of house collapses, as heavy rains lashed Punjab and roofs of walls of about 12-14 houses caved-in at different places in the city. While an aged woman, a child and a 40-year-old farmer were killed, three people were injured when the roof of a house collapsed.

As a second wave of rains continued to lash the entire state of Gujarat for last 48 hours, one more death was reported in Vapi town, raising the death toll in the state to 11.

In Uttar Pradesh, people heaved a sigh of relief from the sultry and humid weather conditions as rainfall re-visited the state after a gap and made the whole weather pleasant. In the last 24 hours, little to normal rainfall lashed some regions of the state.

However, some of the rivers were flowing above the danger mark, including Sharda (19 cm) and Saryu (22 cm). Ghagra was 11 cm and 23 cm, respectively, above the red mark in Elginbridge (Barabanki) and Turtipar (Ballia).

In Punjab crops were destroyed, as the fields were flooded by heavy rains in the Chola Sahib and Khem Karan areas of Tarn Taran of the state. Amritsar received over 200 mm of rain in the last 24 hours, the heaviest in several years. Heavy rainfall was also reported in Jalandhar and Gurdaspur. Life was affected in Ludhiana as well, the industrial hub of the state, which recorded 52.6 mm rain.

Although, the rivers Ravi, Beas and Satjuj rivers were reported to be flowing below the danger mark with no immediate danger of floods, people in the low lying areas along these rivers had been asked to move to safety as precaution.

Rains also continued to lash the Union Territory of Chandigarh and its surrounding areas. The city recorded 52.2 mm rain, while Panchukla had 15 mm rain.

In Haryana, low to moderate rainfall was also fairly widespread.

Ambala recorded 22.7 mm rainfall, while Karnal had 15.6 mm rain this morning. Kalka, the gateway to Himachal Pradesh received 18 mm rain.